Poles

LATEST TODAY'S CATCH

Humpback Whale in Antarctic Waters

Apr 4, 2013 - 9:22AMHumpback whales (Megaptera novaengliae) can be found in Antarctic waters during the spring and summer in the Southern hemisphere, where they gorge on their main food source: tiny krill. How do they locate the small prey and...
Feb 15, 2013 - 10:56AM
This pair of sea butterflies (Limacina helicina) flutter not far from the...
Dec 10, 2012 - 10:20AM
In the icy waters of the Arctic, a deep-water larvacean (aka “sea tadpole”...

SPOTLIGHT

The Sant Ocean Hall: Life at the Poles Exhibit

At the Poles, Life Thrives  Located beside the Shores and Shallows gallery (which highlights different kinds of coastal...
Ice Divers Prepare to Plunge
Jan 5 2011 - 4:43pm
It takes special equipment and many warm layers of clothing to dive safely beneath Arctic sea ice. Ice divers look for holes in a melt pond in order to enter the frigid waters.
A polar bear and her cub on the ice
Jun 28 2011 - 2:25pm
The Encyclopedia of Life and Atlantic Public Media bring us another installment of the podcast, One Species at a Time. In this podcast, host Ari Daniel Shapiro relates two close calls with polar bears. Listen as Heather Cray recalls how, dumped by a storm on a small Arctic island,...
Arctic Scientists at Work
Jan 10 2011 - 1:17pm
Arctic scientists study a range of marine animals – from large species like polar bears to the microscopic, like phytoplankton. The amount of phytoplankton at different depths can tell us about the amount of sunlight and food available in the Arctic waters. Learn more in the Under Arctic Ice photo...
Jan 6 2011 - 11:55am
Close-up of Boreoatlantic armhook squid, Gonatus fabricii. View the “Under Arctic Ice” photo essay.
Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
Scripps scientist Gerald Kooyman's expeditions have documented climate-induced changes to emperor penguin habitat in Antarctica. Learn more about life at the poles or check out this emperor penguin chick with mother.
Arctic Exploration
Jan 14 2011 - 2:45pm
New technology is making it possible for scientists to go where they’ve never gone before, the depths of the icy Arctic Ocean. By collecting organisms and mapping the seafloor, researchers can discover the effects of climate change on this region and understand the relationship between the ice,...
Dec 10 2012 - 10:20am
In the icy waters of the Arctic, a deep-water larvacean (aka “sea tadpole” because it looks like a tadpole) drifts through the water in its 'house.' This house is made of protein and creates almost a shell around the larvacean and helps to filter particles out of the water for the larvacean to eat...
Sep 8 2011 - 4:04pm
At a recent staff meeting a Smithsonian colleague mentioned that one of his pastimes this summer has been keeping tabs on the Arctic sea ice. The question that's on many Arctic-watchers' minds is whether or not the 2011 sea ice coverage will reach a new record low.